cree

At long last, Cree is capitalizing on the phase-out of incandescent bulbs by releasing a new low-price ($8) LED bulb that, near as dammit, has the same silhouette as the standard A19 incandescent bulb that you bought at Walmart last week. This new Cree bulb doesn’t just look different, however — this is a brand-new third-generation design. Curiously, the new bulbs come with a 3-year warranty instead of the 10-year warranty that Cree previously offered on its LED lights.

The three Japanese scientists who invented the first efficient blue LEDs in the mid 1990s have received the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics. The invention of efficient blue LEDs was a foundational step in the creation of the bright white LED lights being produced by the likes of Cree and Philips, which are driving the most significant transformation in lighting technology since the invention of the incandescent bulb.

Over the past two years we’ve seen Cree transition from an LED manufacturer with a presence in the related markets to a major force in the LED lighting market. Now that the company has a firm footing in the consumer LED space, it set its sights back on business with the SmartCast lighting control system.

Cree, the LED company best known for their $10 LED bulb, has had a busy year. After releasing the Cree LED bulb in 40W- and 60W-equivalent models, the company went on to ship a high color accuracy model, the Cree TW, and a BR30 directional bulb. Today, well under a year since the release of its first consumer LED bulb, Cree has announced a 75W-equivalent, 1100 lumen model, priced at $24.

This morning, in California, Cree will unveil the TW series, a high performance LED bulb designed for compliance with strict voluntary guidelines set forth by the California Energy Commission. This is a follow-up to Cree’s super popular LED bulb that stands alone in the industry, delivering 93 CRI for just $20… and the price is about to drop.

The cheapest of Cree’s LED bulbs costs less than $10, and they’re all backed by a (rather uncustomary) 10-year warranty. Perhaps most importantly, though, Cree’s LED bulbs are shaped just like an incandescent bulb, and emit a light pattern and color temperature that is also very reminiscent of incandescent bulbs.

The lumens-per-watt (lpw) rating for an incandescent bulb is a lowly 15 (or so) while newer LED bulbs are in the range of 75. While 75 lpw is plenty efficient, it’s no where near what manufacturers like Cree are working on. In fact, the company has just put out a 200 lpw LED known as the XLamp MK-R.

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